Latvian election monitor impressed with German openness

Latvian election monitor impressed with German opennessMunich  - When Lolita Cigane carries out her duties as an election monitor, the procedure is the same whether she is in Kyrgyzstan or Germany: she always follows the instructions of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Cigane and 11 other experts are currently in Germany to observe Sunday's general election on behalf of the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

It is the first time the organization has sent monitors to a German election - normally they are active in countries like Afghanistan, which voted in presidential polls last month.

In addition to Germany, OSCE monitors will also be keeping an eye on Sunday's parliamentary elections in Portugal. The two missions were invited by the German and Portuguese governments.

"There is no election that is 100 per cent perfect," said Cigane, a 36-year-old native of Latvia, who has been in Germany since mid- September.

"It is not a mission like in other countries where there is a search going on for irregularities," she said. The small size of her group is proof of that.

For a comprehensive monitoring mission in Germany there would need to be 500 observers in place across the country of 82 million.

"But I'm certain that Germany can benefit from our work and that we might be able to give some valuable tips," said the petite blonde.

Her team will assess and report on the overall framework for the conduct of the elections. It will analyse the legal framework, the political campaign, the work of the election administration, as well as the complaints and appeals process.

It will issue its final report on the election in about six months' time at the earliest.

On Thursday, Cigane was in Munich where she met the regional election commissioner for the southern state of Bavaria, Karlheinz Anding.

"We discussed procedural matters and coordination with the rest of Germany's federal states," said the woman whose previous visits to Germany have solely been in a private capacity.

At home, she is the head of the local office of the anti- corruption watchdog Transparency International.

A political scientist who studied at the London School of Economics (LSE), Cigane has been involved in OSCE missions before.

"What impresses me in Germany is that people will talk openly to us. They always give you an answer, no matter what the question is," she said.

The assessment mission will not carry out systematic or comprehensive observation of the voting, counting, or tabulation on election day, but the experts plan to visit polling stations to follow procedures. (dpa)